Revision as of 20:38, 11 January 2014

Common Sense!

I have always regarded Paine as one of the greatest of all Americans. Never have we had a sounder intelligence in this republic… It was my good fortune to encounter Thomas Paine's works in my boyhood… it was, indeed, a revelation to me to read that great thinker's views on political and theological subjects. Paine educated me then about many matters of which I had never before thought. I remember very vividly the flash of enlightenment that shone from Paine's writings and I recall thinking at that time, 'What a pity these works are not today the schoolbooks for all children!' My interest in Paine was not satisfied by my first reading of his works. I went back to them time and again, just as I have done since my boyhood days..- Thomas Alva Edison

"I had not really set out to create a zine. It just sort of happened that way. I was writing & recording some music, and considering how I want to release it. Then, I got to thinking about Compact Discs and how finding CD storage / carrying cases is getting increasingly difficult. No one makes them anymore, just CD wallets...ugh! What are people doing with their jewel cases? It seems like everyone takes better care of their comic books. So, I thought, "Why not package it in a comic book?" From there I gradually stumbled into zineworld. But, I wanted to make mine more like the mail-art packages I had made for my friends as a teenager, a big...weird..."box of stuff." But, everyone likes to browse. So, being able to skim through the pages is still important. I figured that I could glue an envelope to the back and stuff all of the goodies inside there. Is it still a zine? A book? An album? Something else? I don't know. I may continue to experiment with it as I go along. Content-wise there is really is no overall theme; personal stories, comix, activities, found objects, et cetera. It is an odd mix of miscellaneous contents. But, my music can be like that sometimes too. So, it all works out."

Favorite Quotes

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi

"American civilization? I think that would be a good idea! - Mahatma Gandhi

"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act." - George Orwell

"Rights are not inherent or granted, they are fought for and earned. The degree to which you resist is the degree to which you are free." - Howard Zinn

"I think technology will save us. And I think our own goodness will save us, basic human decency."..."Money is a terrible thing. Why do people work at jobs in Star Trek? Why does someone become a baker? Because the family is going to starve to death? No. People become bakers because certain people love the smell of things baking and certain people take pride--we all have a little pride--in something. 'Let me give this to you because it's delicious and you will love it, and I made it, and this is my recipe'. All things will be taken care of."~~Gene Roddenberry (creator of Star Trek) "The Last Conversation"

"The revolution will not be televised. but it WILL be wikified" - Kingturtle

"There IS such a thing as a free lunch. You just have to offer it." - Kingturtle

”All this was inspired by the principle - which is quite true in itself - that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying. These people know only too well how to use falsehood for the basest purposes. ... “ – Adolf Hitler "Mein Kampf" 1925 (James Murphy translation, page 134)

Many of us saw religion as harmless nonsense. Beliefs might lack all supporting evidence but, we thought, if people needed a crutch for consolation, where's the harm? September 11th changed all that. Revealed faith is not harmless nonsense, it can be lethally dangerous nonsense. Dangerous because it gives people unshakeable confidence in their own righteousness. Dangerous because it gives them false courage to kill themselves, which automatically removes normal barriers to killing others. Dangerous because it teaches enmity to others labelled only by a difference of inherited tradition. And dangerous because we have all bought into a weird respect, which uniquely protects religion from normal criticism. Let's now stop being so damned respectful! - Richard Dawkins

"In your own words....I use the same words as everybody else. In my own words it comes out as, 'Oop vlap lillip FLOOOM!'." - George Carlin